"I don’t see Fleetwood Mac ever really stopping" - Stevie Nicks New York Times Interview

Stevie Nicks, Just Following Her Muse 
The Creative Mid-Life 
By JOAN ANDERMAN
New York Times

During her 40-year career as a member of Fleetwood Mac and a solo artist, the singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks has made more than 40 Top 50 hits and sold over 140 million albums. “In Your Dreams,” a documentary film about the making of her 2011 album of the same name, was recently released on DVD. Now 65, Ms. Nicks called from a rented house in Phoenix, her hometown. A condensed and edited version of our conversation follows.

You just finished a tour with Fleetwood Mac, a band with a tumultuous personal history. How do you all get along now?

Mick Fleetwood and I are best friends. We were mad at each other for six months or a year after we broke up, and then were able to return to who we were before. My relationship with Lindsey Buckingham is never going to be that. When it’s all said and done and I’m 90 years old, maybe I’ll be able to figure that relationship out. John McVie I adore. I look after him as much as I can [Mr. McVie was given a diagnosis of cancer in October] and make sure he puts ice on his back.

Are you surprised that the band is still together?

Surprised? No. It’s a really great band.

How has your voice changed?

I had a lot of problems with my voice from 1975 to 1998. We were only just starting to use ear monitors, and we’d been using huge floor monitors that blast the sound back at you and you just scream over it. There were many bad nights onstage. Since 1998 I’ve been working with a vocal coach, Steve Real, and I’ve never had a problem onstage since.

Do you have a voice care regimen?

Three hours before I go on-stage I do a 40-minute vocal lesson. We go on at 8, which means I have to be done at 5, so from 3 to 3:30 I do the first part and between 4:30 and 5 I do the second part; 30 minutes and then 11 minutes. By the time I walk onstage at 8 o’clock, I’m ready to do 2 hours and 40 minutes.

So your voice is in better shape than it was 30 years ago?

Oh, yes. I tell all the young people I know that sing to get a vocal coach. You don’t have to take them on the road like I do. They’ll make you a tape, and you’ll become a better singer.

Why the 10-year wait between your last two solo albums?

After I made “Trouble in Shangri-La,” which came out in 2001, I started realizing that everything my manager was telling me about how the Internet was going to eventually kill the music business was true. Records as we knew them, records as concepts, as 12 songs in a row that were sequenced, where you may not like the fourth song but you let it play because you love the way the third song went into the fourth song and the way the fourth song went into the fifth song, were definitely ending. And that was heartbreaking. I was told that the best thing for me to do as an older rock ‘n’ roll singer would be to tour.

Eventually you made “In Your Dreams.”
Well, I saw this movie, “New Moon,” in the Twilight series, and I was very inspired by that story so I wrote a song about it called “Moonlight.” And I thought, I can’t just put out this one song so I guess I’m going to have to put out a record. I got off the Fleetwood Mac tour in 2009 and hit the ground running. I called Dave Stewart [formerly of the Eurythmics] probably two weeks after I got home and said I’m ready to make a record now.

INTERVIEW: Stevie Nicks tells-all about joining #AmericanHorrorStory #FleetwoodMac

LEGENDARY singer and songwriter Stevie Nicks called into Naughty But Nice Rob to talk EXCLUSIVELY about her much anticipated appearance on tomorrow’s episode of American Horror Story: Coven! See what she had to say below:
Naughtybutnickerob.com
by Naughty But Nice Ricky

Hello Stevie! Tell us about Stevie Nicks on AHS: Coven!

“I haven’t seen it yet! I’m going to be on stage in Vegas when it comes on. I’m flying from Phoenix to Vegas for the last Fleetwood Mac show, then flying back to Phoenix. It will be 2 in the morning before I watch it. But I like to see the show the day it goes out in the world. I want to see it with everyone else. I still want to see it that night.  I feel the same way about my music. The first time it goes out is when the public hears it, it’s a spiritual experience with the people.”

Well, we are beyond ecstatic to hear that you are joining the cast of AHS: Coven. What was it like joining the cast?

“Incredible! I didn’t meet Angela (Bassett) or Sarah (Paulson) but I did get to meet Kathy (Bates) on second day. I flew back with Kathy and got to spend more real 1 on 1 time . We flew from New Orleans to LA way after midnight, which was a 5 hr flight, on a very strange plane I’ve never flown before. It was a perfect end to my horror story experience.

The whole experience was a little crazy. I met all the young girls, and worked with Jessica…trying to explain it, I’ve never done anything like it before. I did “Up All Night” with Christina Applegate which was very funny, because funny people come up with funny stuff around every sentence. But this is very deep, because it’s a very complex story.”

How was working with Jessica Lange?

“Just to watch Jessica Lange work blew my mind. By the time you’re done with every scene it’s been hours, so you’d assume I got to know Jessica. Well, I don’t know how well I know Jessica Lange, but I sure know Fiona. And you’re afraid of her. You know that she’s the CEO, President of the Company, Head Witch. There’s no doubt when she walks into the room that you know who she is. (Lange) does not drop her character.”

What made you decide to do AHS: COVEN?

“You know, I’ve never been to a real horror movie. No, I didn’t want to carry around in my consciousness. This is a story about misfits. Just like “GLEE” is like misfits. I relate to misfits. I’ve been very successful as a misfit. I would have been one of those weird “GLEE” kids. I’m super blessed to be thrown into this amazing story, in its own way this is its own type of fairytale. Everyone was so supportive and loving! ”

What can we expect from your “character”?

“I’m playing Stevie Nicks. I’m me. So get ready. It’s really exciting, and I feel like I have a whole other world I’ve moved into in a way. I’ve done thousands of tours, sold millions of records…but this is a totally new experience.”

Due to the capsulized nature of the show, would you consider joining a future season? Or perhaps come to television in another capacity?

“I don’t know. I didn’t know what this really was until I watched the first episode in Paris. I would have to know what it’s going to be, but the doors are all open here. It’s been such a great experience that I don’t know why I wouldn’t want to do this again. I haven’t seen the episode yet, so after tomorrow I’ll let you know.”

My life is changed. What a wonderful woman. Check out the all NEW episode of American Horror Story: Coven on FX tomorrow, January, 8th!

TOMORROW: Stevie Nicks Interviewed on Entertainment Weekly Radio SiriusXM Ch.105 1pm ET #AHS

Wednesday, January 8th: The one and only Stevie Nicks joins Entertainment Weekly's Tim Stack on the TV Editor's Hour on SiriusXM Radio Ch.105 from 1:00pm ET. She joins Tim to talk all about her stint on American Horror Story.

Listen on SiriusXM Satellite Radio Ch.105 at 1:00pmET

Interview: Stevie Nicks on 'In Your Dreams' American Horror Story #AHS Fleetwood Mac and John McVie

Stevie Nicks Is Still On Hyperdrive
An interview with the hard-working Fleetwood Mac frontwoman
by Alanna Nash, AARP

Stevie Nicks — lead singer and co-writer of Fleetwood Mac — is on a multimedia tear. After a sold-out world tour this year she's just released the DVD In Your Dreams (a visual bookend to her acclaimed 2011 solo album of the same name), and she's drawing new fans through her guest appearance on the hit show American Horror Story, which airs early next year. She slowed down long enough to answer our questions about the seemingly timeless appeal of her music.

In Your Dreams Available at Amazon

Q: You're a very private person, but In Your Dreams was filmed in your home.

A: I had two good reasons for allowing that. First, Dave [Stewart, of the Eurythmics] said to me, "I think this

album is going to be really magic. We should film it."

"Are you kidding?" I asked him. "That means I'll have to wear makeup and get dressed every day."

Dave said, "Yeah, you may have to wear a little makeup, but I know how to shoot women — I've been doing it since Annie Lennox. And I use cameras that film in soft light, so we won't have to change the ambiance [of your home]. And if you don't like it, no one will ever see it."

Second, I started thinking about the Tom Petty documentary Runnin' Down a Dream, where you get to see the Traveling Wilburys — and then, in the blink of an eye, two of them [Roy Orbison and George Harrison] are gone. So I thought, "We don't live forever — let's do this!"

Photo by: Geert Van de Velde

Q: Fleetwood Mac had to cancel the Australia and New Zealand legs of the tour so bass player John McVie could undergo cancer treatment.

A: Yes, but he's doing well. He's going to have a little operation in January, but he'll come through with flying colors. There's nothing wimpy about John.

Q: We're at that age where issues of vulnerability crop up.

A: Well, I lost my godson to an overdose of Xanax and alcohol at a frat party two years ago, three weeks before my mom died. And I see a lot of young people heading down a bad road, so I'm much more worried about their mortality rate than mine. It makes me realize life is precious, and that I need to keep in contact with all my friends.

Q: You're doing a longer concert set than you ever have. How do you stay healthy?

A: I do Weight Watchers and take a lot of vitamins, but I don't really work out — unless you count dancing around the house and the hotel room. We're always doing shows — those are my workout. If I have a day off, I stay in bed: I make myself a hot-water bottle and some tea, and I don't move.

Q: Fleetwood Mac's classic album, Rumours, turned 36 in 2013. Why does our generation — and the next few, apparently — love that record so much?

A: When you listen to those songs, you don't feel like you're listening to old music. A 16-year-old girl can listen to "Gold Dust Woman" and go, "Oh — that's me."

Q: And now you're going to be on American Horror Story.

A: Yes! I think that happened because I got into the Glee tribe when they did the episode on Fleetwood Mac. I don't usually watch horror, but this is a great way to take my music to a whole other generation of kids. My niece told me, "I've lived in your world my whole life — now you're coming into mine."

Q: You hadn't acted since your fourth-grade school play. What was the experience like?

A: I'm no Katharine Hepburn, but I did the best I could. I told [producer] Ryan Murphy, "I don't want my tombstone to read, 'Great songwriter, lousy actress.' So if I'm that bad, just take me out."

I loved meeting Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates and all the girls, and I'm excited about my role, which is a crazy one — I play myself, and then some! I think people will be surprised. I can't tell you more than that, because it's a total secret society; anyone who breathes a word of what's going on could disappear.

Q: The way you dress on stage fits perfectly into American Horror Story.

A: Yes, when Lily Rabe walks away and you see her hair — and the skirt, and the shawl, and the boots — there's no doubt that looks like me.

Q: Young girls have started showing up at concerts rocking your look. Is it fun to appeal to them?

Photo by: Fin Costello

A: It is. I created that look in 1976. The first year I went on tour with Fleetwood Mac, I took just my street clothes. We had no money, so I never ate; then I quickly gained 10 pounds, and nothing fit. So when I got home I went to designer Margi Kent and said, "Listen, I just want a handkerchiefy skirt, and a leotard, and a little riding jacket, and some black platform boots, and a chiffon scarf, and I want you to make three sets of those. That's going to be my uniform."

As we went along, we added some ponchos. I found the top hat in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1978. The skirts came up, the skirts came down, but my basic look is exactly the same as ever. I always said, "I want to wear this outfit at 28, but I also want to be able to wear it at 60." Not in a million years did I believe I'd still be wearing it at 60! But I'm proud if I created a fashion statement.

Q: According to the In Your Dreams documentary, love has no age limit.

A: None at all! I believe that I could meet my great love at 70. I just have to run into the right person. People tweet, text, email and Facebook, but they don't sit in the same room and deal with each other face to face. That really bothers me. It makes me think, "Well, you'll never meet anybody." But I've felt that way before, then walked around the corner and looked into the eyes of somebody who would become one of my great loves.

When you're not looking is when people show up. So if it happens, great, and if it doesn't, that's OK; I'm a creative person, and I fill my world with creativity.